In My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, the Portokalos Family travels to Greece for a wedding. Like the first two movies, the large ensemble cast is lead by Nia Vardalos, who also wrote and directed the film. It also features John Corbett, Lanie Kazan, and Andrea Martin. Before Michael Constantine passed away in 2021, he gave his blessing for the film to proceed without him.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding and it’s first sequel were filmed in Toronto, despite taking place in Chicago. This 3rd film was shot entirely on location in Greece. I had a chance to attend a sneak-preview screening, and am happy to share some of the filming locations here.
The following information includes some minor spoilers regarding the plot. If you wish to avoid these, please visit the site after you’ve seen the film.
Corfu
The majority of the My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was filmed on the island of Corfu. Nia Vardalos and the production team settled on the village of Varipatades to film in. You can read more about the village here.
As actor Michael Constantine passed away in 2021, his character of Gus has also died. The plot revolves around Toula returning to his childhood home to find his old friends and present them with his lifelong journal. While I haven’t had a chance to visit, I was able to catch a glimpse of it from a distance.
The main town of Corfu was used for some of the shopping scenes in the movie. I have had the chance to visit and explore this town.
Athens
When the family first arrives in Greece, they are in Athens. While they don’t spend much time in the city, we do get a brief look at some of the major landmarks as they pass by.
The Acropolis
The most well known attraction in Athens is the Acropolis, upon which sits the Parthenon. This historical site is a must for any visitor to the city. If you do plan to visit, keep in mind you need to climb 250 steps to get to the top, and it can often be very crowded with tourists.
The Plaka
The Plaka is a famous shopping area in downtown Athens. It is a series of old streets and cobblestones, lined with shops and restaurants.
Panathenaic Stadium
We also see the Panathenaic Stadium, known for hosting Olympic Games. The site originally held a couple previous stadiums, dating back to the 6th Century BC. The current stadium opened around the year 144 AD and is made entirely of marble. The stadium was renovated to host the first modern Olympic Games in 1894, and again hosted some Olympic events at the 2004 games. I had a chance to visit several years ago with my friend Elvira.
Greek Parliament
We catch a quick glimpse of the Greek Parliament as they family drives by. This is another well known attraction in Athens, and you may even be able to catch the changing of the guard ceremony.
Piraeus
Piraeus is a town about 30 minutes outside of Athens. It is the main port for cruises and ferries to the various islands. We see it in the movie as the family boards a ferry to head to Gus’s home island.
Santorini
The island of Santorini was used twice in the movie. First we see Nikki and Angelo searching for Gus’s childhood friends. Later, the wedding scenes were also filmed here. Production used one of the most famous locations in Greece, the town of Oia. When you think of Greece, you are probably picturing of this town, white it’s cliffside white buildings with blue roofs. If you get a chance to visit, wear good walking shoes. The entire town is on the side of a cliff, and has a lot of stairs and uneven ground. Make sure you also bring a camera to take photos of the houses and windmills.
The Portokalos House
As the movie opens, we see the Portokalos house, which was seen in the first two movies. The house is located in the Danforth area of Toronto. As you can see, the house looks significantly different than it did in the movies. While it still has some Greek architectural touches, the production greatly enhanced the look.
As Nia Vardalos discusses in this interview, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was shot entirely in Greece. The interiors of the Portokalos house were actually filmed at a residential house in Athens. She also mentions that scenes taking place at Chicago O’Hare Airport were filmed at Athens Airport.
